The aging and declining population is accelerating in the southern region of Mie Prefecture. On the other hand, the number of young people who want to do their best in this region seems to be increasing. This time, we visited one such area, Owase City in Mie Prefecture.
First, let's get hungry. Enjoy Owase's fish.
We arrived in Owase before noon and had lunch first. We stopped at Owase Fish Market Ototo.
Owase is all about fish! So I had a bowl of rice topped with seafood.
After dinner, do a little shopping. You can buy souvenirs at Ototo.
Coworking space that connects people and communities through "work
After lunch, we visited Share Space Doimise.
Share Space Doimise is a coworking space in a renovated old private house designated as a registered tangible cultural property, located within walking distance from JR Owase Station, so you don't need a car to use it.
Here is a Japanese-style room used as a coworking space. On this day, several people were using the room. Some of them were university students.
This is a Western-style room. It has a modern atmosphere that is a complete change from the Japanese-style room. This room can also be used for meetings.
The NPO Owase Livelihood Support Center operates this facility.
It is run by a graduate member of the Owase City Regional Development Cooperation Volunteers. We took some time to talk with them.
Doimise not only operates a coworking space, but also accepts workcationers. Recently, they have received many inquiries from companies, and they also play a role in coordinating suitable programs while listening to the needs of the companies.
Making use of the connections they have made through the Regional Development Cooperation Volunteers and their past activities, they are planning a program that is unique to Owase, a port town, using the entire Owase area as a field.
As a coworking space, "Doimise" also attracts many freelance workers. Sometimes, projects are created together with these people, and as a result, they sometimes end up moving to the area.
What I found most interesting in what you said was the diversity of workcations.
Through long-stay workcations, people can create new connections, jobs, and new values in the regions they travel to. In this day and age when people are increasingly focusing on multi-location living, I have a feeling that places like Doimise will become very important as a base of operations.
On this day, I just had an online meeting scheduled, so I borrowed a corner of a Western-style room to work. Perhaps because of the calm atmosphere, I felt like I was able to concentrate more on my work than usual.
Overnight in the town of Owase.
As the sun was setting, we moved on to the inn we would be staying at today, "Watamashi," a fishing village lifestyle inn. From Doimise, it is about a 5 minute walk. The impression from the outside is of a private house with a Showa-era atmosphere, but the inside is very neat and clean. The inn is a vacant house that has been renovated and is now being used as an inn.
There is a living room with wooden flooring as well as a Japanese-style room.
It is only one house and spacious.
The kitchen space is equipped with a refrigerator, rice cooker, microwave oven, and tableware. You can cook anything you want by buying ingredients at a nearby supermarket.
There is also a bath. A washer and dryer were also provided.
With such good facilities, it would be safe to use for a long stay.
Wi-Fi is also available so you can work here.
You can use different places to work on different days, such as "Watamashi" when you want to stay in and work, and "Doimise" when you want to change your mood or meet people.
Mr. Nakao, the owner of this inn, is also an alumnus of the Regional Development Cooperation Volunteers. Owase City's Regional Development Cooperation Corps began in 2011, and many alumni of the corps are active in the community. I felt that the connections among these alumni are a great source of strength.
For dinner, we decided to visit the restaurant we were introduced to at Doimise, "Restaurant Onigawara".
Continuing from lunch, here is a fish dish. Both sashimi and boiled fish were very tasty.
There are other unique and interesting stores in the town of Owase.
After dinner, we headed to Yumekodo Ose "Yumekodo no Yu". This is about a 5-minute drive from the inn. It is nice to be able to do so many things nearby.
I took a long soak in the hot spring to recover from the fatigue of the trip.
At Yume Kodo Owase, you can have lunch and buy souvenirs during the day.
I was more tired than I had expected, so I returned to the inn and went to bed early.
Taste Higashi-Kishu on a long drive
In the morning I took a short walk around the inn. You can feel the atmosphere of a fishing port. They also have a morning market once a month. I wonder what kind of atmosphere it has.
After returning to the inn and checking out, we decided to take a trip to Kumano. We enjoyed the scenery along the way.
The beach near Kumano City Station. It was a beautiful day. I took a short walk along the beach. It would be fun to open my PC and work here.
Drive from the coast to the mountainous area. This is Maruyama Senmaida, the largest number of terraced rice fields in Japan. The overwhelming presence of the mountains and the sea seems to be a characteristic of the Higashi-Kishu area. I wonder what it would be like to have a Zoom meeting here.
Long-stay farming experience spot deep in Kumano!
It took about two hours to enjoy the drive from Owase. On this day, we visited "Farm House Ame-no-shuri," a farm house located on the border with Nara Prefecture.
The "Farm House Ame-no-shuri" accepts people who are interested in agriculture for long-term workcations. Residents spend several months or more learning and experiencing life with agriculture while helping with local farm work.
On this day, a young man from outside the prefecture was staying with us. He is staying here until the fall to learn how to grow rice.
The facility is run by Mr. and Mrs. Amemiya. Mr. Amemiya is an alumnus of the Kumano City Regional Development Cooperation Volunteers. As was the case in Owase, it seems that alumni of the East Kishu area are active here and there.
For those who have created jobs, connections, and lifestyles in the region as members of the Regional Development Cooperation Volunteers, the desire to "explore something new" among those who stay for extended periods of time on work vacations may overlap with their former selves.
That is why I felt that there are many places and people in the area who are willing to support such efforts.
This time, I stayed only a few hours, so I could only listen to what they had to say, but even so, I feel that I learned a lot about "work".
To drive to taste Higashi-Kishu again.
After listening to a story at "Farm House Ame-no-shuri," we returned to the city center of Kumano, again enjoying the scenery along the way. After that, we drove to "Roadside Station Park Shichiri-Mihama" to buy souvenirs.
The Kumano area is famous as a place where oranges can be harvested year-round.
There were so many souvenirs related to mandarin oranges that I had a hard time deciding what to buy.
After purchasing souvenirs, we went back to see the sea.
The sea and sky spread out all around. This scenery is calming.
We still had a little time to spare, so we stopped by Onigajo Castle.
The natural formations created by waves eroding the rocks are breathtaking.
In addition to these places, there are many other unexplored spots in the Higashi-Kishu area that have an atmosphere that seems to harbor something, so you will want to visit many more.
This time we visited both Owase and Kumano. Since the distance traveled by car was quite long, I felt that I could enjoy my stay more fully if I stayed two or three nights longer. Whether for work or for sightseeing, the Higashi-Kishu area may be a good place to stay for a long time. I would like to meet more people and see more scenery. I would like to stay longer next time.
Daily Schedule
Day 1
12:00 Lunch at "Owase Fish Market Ototo
13:30 Arrive at "Shared Space Doimise". Online meetings and other work
17:00 Arrive at Watamashi, a fishing village lifestyle inn. Check in.
18:00 Dinner in downtown Owase
19:30 Arrive at Watamashi
20:00 Bathe at Yumekodo Owase
21:30 Arrive in Watamashi. Check email and do other work.
23:00 Bedtime
Day 2
08:30 Wake up, walk around the area
09:00 Check out and drive to Kumano City
On the way, stop by Maruyama Senmaida.
11:30 Arrive at "Farm House Ame-no-shuri“
14:00 Departure
15:00 Arrive at "Roadside Station Park Shichiro-mihama" Shopping
16:00 Arrive at Onigajo
16:30 Departure for home
Facilities
Owase Fish Market Ototo
2-10, Furutono-cho, Owase, Mie 519-3659
Share Space Doimise
14-2 Asahi-cho, Owase, Mie 519-3611
Fishing village life inn Watamashi
3-25 Nakai-cho, Owase, Mie 519-3605
Fishing village life inn Watamashi
Yumekodo Owase
12-4, Mukai, Owase, Mie 519-3625
Maruyama Senmaida
Farm House Ame-no-shuri
152 Ogawa, Ikusei-cho, Kumano, Mie 519-4447
Onigajo